Rural Teenagers More Likely to Abuse Prescription Drugs

A study from the University of Kentucky finds that rural teenagers are 26 percent more likely to abuse prescription drugs than teenagers living in urban areas. The study discovered that there were no differences between rural and urban teenagers using marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other hallucinogenic drugs.The study found that 13 percent of teenagers living in rural areas admitted to abusing prescription drugs. This statistic was compared with 10 percent of teenagers living in cities.“We were excited when we heard about those numbers,” said Karen Kelly, director of Operation UNITE, a non-profit organization that fights drug addiction in eastern Kentucky. “A lot of times in small communities, people don’t think there is anything to be concerned about.”